Porcelain
by ittybittyalphawolf
Summary: Ren Kouki is the newest student at Ouran, and he's determined to make an impression after his father sends him across the world. Tamaki watches as Ren defends a helpless student and instantly spots Host material. The problem - Ren has decided the Host Club is a group of evil womanizing players and wants nothing to do with them. Pre-Haruhi, may have Yaoi, MxM elements later on.
1. Chapter 1

**Porcelain - Prologue**

**Disclaimer - **I don't own Ouran HighSchool Host Club or any characters, however the Kouki's and any original elements belong to myself.

* * *

Sato Kouki strode down the corridor, furiously, with clenched fists and a precarious scowl on his face. The leathery, tanned skin on his cheeks bunched up, forming lines of wrinkles beside his mouth. He was so angry, his face was turning purple and his eyes were bloodshot.

On his way to his destination – his son's bedroom – he passes two maids. Once they saw him they avoided his gaze and quickly scurried past him, but stayed out in the hallway hoping to hear whatever Sato had to say to his son. They both flinched as the door slammed open and closed, and Sato's booming voice filled the house.

If Sato wasn't angry enough, the sight of his son lying back on his bed talking on the phone _so casually_ threw him over the edge. He strode over to the boy and yanked the device from his hand, scratching his ear in the process.

"Agh! Hey, I was – " Sato didn't want to hear what his son had to say.

For a moment Sato wondered what exactly he was going to do with the phone. He had two options: the balcony, or the bathroom.

Ren crawled off of the bed and rushed after his father who quietly (and angrily) made his way to the adjoining bathroom. Just as he got to the door he heard the toilet flush and it had become very clear what Sato had just done.

Sato barged past Ren, who stood looking forlorn at having his phone flushed.

"I've had it up to _here _with you!"

Ren slowly turned to face his father.

"For once, I'd like to come home and hear something other than '_Ren got into another fight' _or _'We need to talk about Ren'_. Is that too much to ask?" Ren stayed silent.

"I don't know what to do with you, Ren. You never think about anyone but yourself,"

Ren irately tensed his jaw, "_I _never think about others? How about you? The only time you want anything to do with me is when I'm not –"

"I don't want to hear it."

_Of course he doesn't_, Ren thought sourly and sat down on the end of the bed.

"I'm not here to argue. I'm here to tell you that I've reached the end of my tether. That boy you hit – Saki Obito - his father was a good friend of mine, and we've been allies for a long time. Until now, that is,"

Sato paused, giving his son the chance to intervene. Ren was silent.

"You're running me, Ren. I've asked you again and again to _tolerate people. _You can't go running around hitting whoever you like, especially not important people. You never think about your actions, and the repercussions."

Now, Ren was incredulous. He rose from the bed and stood at full height in front of his father.

"You barley know the whole story and you come in here pointing the finger at me. I _always _think about my actions. It's hardly my fault my efforts go unappreciated,"

"Unappreciated? So this is what you want – attention!" Sato crossed his arms.

"Saki Obito is the scum of the earth! He thinks that just because his daddy has a nice car and a big house he can go around lifting the skirt of any –"

"So you we're fighting over a girl? I thought you were –"

"I am. Obito's behaviour is no excuse. He should know it's immoral. She didn't like him and he had no intention of stopping, so I stepped in and made him."

Both Kouki's were silent. Sato would never admit it, but Ren intimidated him – sometimes he would say frightened him. Ren had inherited his father's dark hair, and his mother's even-darker eyes. Combined with his mother's creamy, European skin and had a naturally lithe figure that would make most girls jealous. Ren was almost an entire head above his father and he looked down on him constantly, much to Sato's dislike.

Over the years, Sato had been fairly lenient and accepting of his son. He didn't care that Ren wore his hair across his eyes; he didn't care that Ren wasn't a natural businessman or that on his seventeenth birthday he decided to buy himself a rather large tattoo –without Sato's permission. N evertheless, when it came to Ren interfering with Sato's alliances and business deals, he promptly 'laid down the law'.

Unfortunately, Ren had also inherited his mother's spiky temper and strong thirst for social justice. He wasn't one for keeping his opinion to himself – if something upset him, he let it show.

"I understand you were trying to help this girl, and in any other situation you would have been doing the right thing," Sato took a deep breath, his expression softening considerably in dejection to the blow he was about to deliver, "You've cost me an alliance with the Obito's, along with damaging this family's overall reputation. The press have been all over the company questioning whether it's wise to ally with a company when I have such a volatile son. People are saying I have no control over you, and that I'm not setting enough of an example for you."

"But you're not –"

"I know, Ren. That's why I've come to a decision."

Sato moved across the room and sat, patting the bed next to him, inviting Ren to join him.

Sato grasped his son's had. Things had been hard since his wife's death. She was always good with Ren – he smiled so much more when she was alive; since then, Ren had lashed out and gone against his father's every word. Sato sometimes wondered if Ren was somehow trying to punish him for his mother's death, or he was simply punishing himself – protecting every female he come across because he couldn't protect his mother.

"I've decided to give this one more try. I'm sending you to a nice school in Bunyoko. They've got a good reputation."

_Bunyoko_?

"Isn't that in Tokyo? That's all the way across the world," Ren started.

"I know, son. Like I said, I don't know what else to do with you. I really don't..." Sato lowered his head and Ren couldn't help but feel ashamed.

He really had meant well by trying to stand up to Obito, but he had no idea that Obito would run crying to his daddy, or that Mr. Obito would stop working with his father.

"You have two years left of school. That's not very long. As soon as you finish school you can come home, I just need time to get my affairs in order. You can call me any time, and I'll always visit you when I can."

Ren looked into his father's eyes and frowned, "You're not coming with me? You're sending me away?"

Sato couldn't look at Ren. His cheeks were a flaming pink, embarrassed at himself for taking the easy way out and simply removing Ren from the scene rather than trying to explain things to make Ren understand. But there were things he couldn't explain to Ren – the importance of his contacts and the underlying, instability of his companies and how arduous getting new clients had been lately.

"This isn't permanent, Ren. I'm just trying to make it work, for me and for you. If you continue like you have I'll have no choice but to..."

Sato paused.

"But to what?" Ren asked quietly.

"Let you go."

_Let him go?_

Now Sato looked Ren sternly in the eye and rose up, "I can't have an heir who's determined to run me into the ground. I'm sorry, Ren."

He leaned forward to ruffle Ren's hair, touch his face, but his son turned away. He swallowed harshly and turned away.

At the door, he stopped once more, "You might want to start packing now. I'll send a maid in to help you, but your flight is tomorrow night."

Sato wanted to apologise to his dejected son and tell him how much he loved him, but he didn't. Instead, he pulled something flat and square out of his pocket – Ren's phone.

"Next time, I won't be so kind." He threw the phone on the bed and wished Ren would look at him.

"Sleep well."

Ren did anything but. He felt so angry and sick – with himself and his own father's cowardice at simply sending him away and removing him from the equation, like a spare part.

Hundreds of cruel, hurtful thoughts feel about his head at a thousand miles an hour. He sloppily threw a folded a white shirt into his suitcase. He kicked a stray tennis shoe at his door and let the tears roll down his cheeks.

Later, his father knocked on the door and asked if he needed help packing. About an hour after that, he brought a tray of Ren's favourite food - pasta and beef dumplings – into his room.

Sato could see his son's red eyes and cheeks but didn't say anything.

Around nine PM a maid knocked on his door with clean bed sheets and towels. He politely let her in and helped her change the sheets, much to her refusal. Then he slipped her a handful of change just as she went out the door – something he'd been doing since he was a child.

He knew what they were getting paid and knew the extra change could go a long way.

He walked about his room whilst brushing his teeth, not wanting to look at his own reflection.

Crawling in to bed, he spotted the phone on his bedside table and felt culpable and uncomfortable. He laid awake for a long time thinking about what his father had said.

_I can't deal with you anymore_.

He had been selfish. He was so determined to do good that he forgot about the bad that comes with it. He wished now that he could have apologise, but he was so determined to make his father understand how immoral his partners were. Of course, most business men don't care. Why should they? Its no business of their what their partners do behind closed doors. If one man teaches his son that its okay to use women as playthings, then what's another to step in and try to change that? He'd been so stupid. _Always trying to be the hero, Ren. _

_No more thinking_. He told himself. Rolling over, he closed his eyes.

* * *

**Okay, that was the start. Sorry its a little vague - its** **important to build up a little background to a story, don't you agree? Review and let me know what you think. Also f&amp;f if you want to continue reading. Thank you :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Porcelain - Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer - **I don't own Ouran HighSchool Host Club or any characters, however the Kouki's and any original elements belong to myself.

* * *

It was lunchtime and Ren made his way around Ouran, desperate to find a quiet place to sit and eat his lunch. The lunch hall had been stifling and he didn't know anyone well enough to join them in empty classrooms. He settled for the safe option and perched himself under a tree, unwrapping his food and laying it on his lap. The lawn was peaceful – not too many student, just a handful of girls crowded around a small bench and two teachers conversing in the far corner. The teachers didn't stay long anyway, as they soon went back inside and Ren was left with the girls.

Ouran itself was certainly extravagant. The pink walls and stunning ornamentation were certainly impressive – to everyone except Ren. He couldn't understand why someone would go to such lengths to make a school look so pretty. Although he guessed if someone was paying Ouran's entrance fees the fancy exterior and interior would be part of the package. But he personally felt it was an unnecessary feature.

As he was chewing on a sandwich crust, which he had made for himself before school, he wondered if the building was original. Perhaps it was once a dilapidated mansion belonging to an ascetic count, and after he died his only son allowed it to be converted into the grand Ouran Academy.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched three boys approach one of the girls.

The ringleader, a particularly pathetic looking boy with slick hair and his jacket slung over his shoulder, revealing the line of underpants below his baggy trousers (Which Ren was sure went against the dress code) said something to one of the girls, making her blush and his friends throw their heads back, laughing.

Without thinking he dropped his sandwich into its plastic bag and began to make his way over to the students. As he approached he could hear some of the vile things the ringleader was saying to the girl. The ringleaders hand was sliding up the girl's leg, and skirt.

Ren pushed the group aside and lurched forward and grabbed the boy's hand. He tore it from the girl's leg and twisted it sharply. The boy screeched and everyone stepped back. He shoved the boys hand away, the force making his body fall to the floor. Whilst he sat clutching his wrist in his hand, Ren took a defensive stance in front of the girl.

This boy was pathetic.

Not taking his eye off the boy, he asked the girl behind him if she was okay. She whimpered quietly.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I'm fine," She told him, "Thank you."

Ren nodded.

The boy finally looked up at him, his two friends now moving to stand behind him, supposedly 'defending' him.

"What the hell?" He spat, "We were only having a little fun!"

Ren's lip twisted, making his expression ugly.

Disgusting.

He grabbed the boy's shirt and pulled him so that they were face to face.

"There was no excuse for your actions. Bottom line, you were being an ass, and I don't like that. She told you to stop, but you carried on. What you were doing wasn't fun, it was sexual harassment – something which can get you sent to prison." He was lying, and was almost sure he would get caught out.

He was surprised when his captive went wide eyed and flushed red. He begun sputtering and everyone around him gasped.

"Let me go! Okay, I'm sorry. I won't do it again, please don't tell anyone. I don't want to go to prison, what would my dad say?!" Ren released the boy and he scrambled back.

He told his friends to follow him and staggered back towards the school building. The three of them kept looking over their shoulder at Ren, and he started back with bared teeth until they were out of sight.

Once they were gone, he turned back to the girls, who were watching Ren with awe.

The victim, a petite brunette, sputtered her 'thank you' and called him her hero.

"It's no problem. Like I said, he had no excuse to do that." He told her.

The girl's friend turned to her, "Yeah! Next time we see him we can threaten him with prison. He won't come anywhere near us," She turned to Ren, "Isn't that right?"

Ren shook his head, "Not really. You can't go to prison for sexual harassment, but don't tell him that, okay?"

He winked at the giggling girls and went back to his own bag across the lawn.

Just as he sat down the bell sounded. Ren groaned – he hadn't gotten to finish his sandwich. As he was walking inside he suddenly remembered his father's words and cringed. Hopefully the boy would just disregard their spat and learn his lesson.

No matter how angry Ren was at Sato Kouki, he had no intention of letting him down. Ren promised himself that he'd change and make it through school and make his father proud. His father wasn't aware of this promise, and didn't need to be. This was Ren's own personal goal.

He stuffed a crust into his mouth as he walked into his class. If he did get in trouble he had witnesses to back him up.

* * *

Tamaki couldn't help but notice that the ladies' attention wasn't on him during class. They whispered among themselves almost completely ignoring him. He was quite surprised. He wasn't used to being ignored.

"Kyoya," He turned to his bespectacled friend, hunched over his work.

"Is there an event happening, one that I'm not aware of, maybe?" He asked.

Kyoya thought for a moment, and then shook his head, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, look at them all," He pointed to the girls around the room.

Kyoya looked at Tamaki over the tops of his glasses, "What about them?"

"They're not paying attention to me!" He stage whispered behind his hand.

It took Kyoya a moment to process the statement, but he couldn't think of an appropriate response. His friend was complaining about not being the centre of attention?

"That means that there's something going on: something I don't know about."

There it was.

Tamaki leaned across his desk and tapped one girl on the shoulder.

They spoke quietly for a moment, before Tamaki turned back around with a grin on his face.

"Apparently," He told Kyoya, "There's a new student. He's in our grade in the other class. He's a foreign student but no one knows where from. He's become quite the hero, so I've heard."

Something in Tamaki's eye twinkled and Kyoya could tell a plan was forming in his blonde friends head. He kept silent and let him continue.

"He selflessly defended a fellow student after another boy threatened to take her innocence as his own. Not only that, but apparently he's been the perfect gentleman all day: holding doors open for our hard-working sensei's, letting our princess' take his spot in the lunch line, even volunteering to carry a back-breaking armful of textbooks."

Kyoya could now see clearly where Tamaki's brain was heading.

With a resolute expression, he looked Kyoya in the eye and said, "We're going to get this new student to join the Host Club!"

True to his word, Tamaki spent the afternoon searching for this new student. He told Kyoya to head to the club without him and made his way to his father's office.

He would have gladly asked Kyoya for the information he was after, however he'd seen the look on Kyoya's face after he mentioned his plan and decided not to push his luck. Kyoya hadn't said no, but he hadn't said yes, either. Kyoya had been in a sour mood all morning since he was woken early by his sister – so he told Tamaki.

Not five minutes later he left the office with the new students name – Ren Kouki – and his class schedule, which showed that he was in maths.

He wasn't in maths. Tamaki found out that Ren had been allowed to leave his maths lesson and head to the library for private study.

The library was a large room, and Tamaki was fairly confident that he could find Ren. If he just searched for a student he didn't recognise, that surely had to be him, right? He pushed open the library doors and scanned the large rows of tables in the centre of the room, and his face dropped with realisation.

He didn't recognise any of the students in the library. He'd visited the library maybe once or twice during his time at Ouran. He couldn't go around and ask everyone if they were Ren Kouki; he'd only make a fool of himself. What could be worse than the Hosting Prince not knowing his own classmates?

Now, he deeply regretted his determination to find Ren himself. In the past he'd always relied on Kyoya to introduce him to new students or students he didn't recognise. He'd felt bad for piling the idea of a new host onto Kyoya so promptly decided he'd find Ren himself and take the weight off of Kyoya's shoulders. It never occurred to him that he hadn't yet seen Ren around school.

Whilst searching the room, his eye wandered to two girls sitting together. He recognised one of them as one of Hunny and Mori's regular guests. Perhaps they'd know something about Ren.

He greeted them politely as he sat down, noticing a student not far from his left perched against one of the almighty bookshelves in the library. The student caught his eye and glowered at him slightly. Tamaki let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

The library must be where all the intimidating, scary kids hang out.

Tamaki turned back to the girls, whispering to them, "I was wondering if you dears wouldn't mind helping me out,"

The girls looked at each other and nodded, mumbling 'sure' and 'of course'.

He leaned forward, "I've heard there's a new student, but I'm afraid I haven't yet had the pleasure of introducing myself. Would you princesses happen to know where I could find him?" He batted his eyelashes and smiled, tilting his head to one side.

The girls' faces lit up and they nodded excitedly.

The pointed left at the scary boy sitting by the shelves.

Tamaki's face fell as he realised that he'd have to approach Ren, who in turn would probably beat him into next week.

His entire body was shaking now and he stood up, thanking the girls. Slowly, he made his way over to Ren, whose eyes were on a book in his hands.

At the sound of footsteps, Ren's gaze sharply met Tamaki's and he was suddenly reminded of the fear he associated with that dreaded Nekozawa. Ren's watched him as he made his way over and stood beside him, before perching beside Ren on the floor. Tamaki was looking at anything but Ren and he was sweating with trepidation.

Suddenly, Tamaki remembered that dogs and bees could smell fear. From the way Ren was glowering at Tamaki, he would say that Ren could smell his own fear and wouldn't be surprised if he had bee or dog's blood. He could almost see Ren's hackles visibly rising and his body thrumming angrily.

"Urm, uh," He glanced at Ren out of the corner of his eye – he was still glaring at him, "I wanted to-"

Without warning Ren rose from the floor and began to walk away. Tamaki scrambled after him and followed him to the librarian's desk by the door. He was taking out the book in his lap.

Ren noticed Tamaki stop beside him.

"No talking in the library. We'll go outside." He muttered.

Tamaki blinked and shook his head, dumbly. He followed Ren like a lost puppy.

Tamaki couldn't believe how intimidating this guy was. He was scared of him when he was sat quietly on the floor; well, that was nothing compared to now when he trailed after him.

Ren wasn't muscle-y, and his slim build didn't make him seem very strong. If anything his tall, thin figure made him seem fragile, but they confident manor of which he carried himself oozed confidence and clearly gave the message of 'someone you don't want to come across in a dark alley'. His foreign, dark eyes were the kind that stared deep into your soul and yet at the same time were cold and calculating. With Ren being so close to him in the library, he could see that they were not black – like he had first thought – but a deep, rich shade of brown, and his wide eyes were framed with black lashes long enough to make any girl jealous. A dusting of freckles also covered his straight nose, close up, making him seem younger than he probably was.

Once they were outside the library, Ren turned to Tamaki sharply.

"What do you want?" He spat harshly.

Feeling slightly more composed, Tamaki gave Ren his award winning smile, "I've heard about what you did for those girls today, and I want you to join the Host Club."

Ren's jaw fell slack and at first Tamaki assumed he was shocked, surprised, maybe honoured with the offer.

The two were silent for a moment before Ren asked, "What's a Host Club?"

Tamaki was jolted. Then he realised that of course Ren wouldn't know what a Host Club is. Today must have been his first day.

Tamaki smiled and raised his arms, "Why don't I show you?"

Ren began to protest but Tamaki had already turned away.

Ren, suddenly suspicious, quietly followed Tamaki as he bounded down the halls. He thought to himself, wondering what a Host Club could be. Was it another weird pop culture trend in Japan? Like Maid Cafes and anime? Maybe it was some kind of working group, like Prom Committee, or the LGBT guys at his old school. Ren wondered why exactly this guy had approached him and it crossed his mind that he could be a friend of the guy he'd threatened earlier. Maybe this was some elaborate set up. Even so, he wouldn't stand a chance against Ren. The idiot had probably never lifted a finger, let alone thrown a punch.

The two stopped in front of the 3rd music room. Ren frowned slightly, his confusion growing.

Just as Tamaki began to push open the door, Ren's hand shot out and stopped him.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Suho Tamaki!" Tamaki replied, still smiling.

Ren grimaced. Tamaki Suho; his first name is Tamaki. The Japanese language still caught Ren by surprise – he'd been speaking English for the majority of his life, and up until a few years ago his parents had never pushed him to learn Japanese. He only started after his mother's funeral when he realised that his father's side of the family were Japanese, and Sato had been pressured by his own father to teach Ren his father's mother tongue.

Ren nodded and Tamaki turned swiftly to open the doors.

The first thing Ren noticed was that for a music room, there were no instruments – just plush sofas and a tray of covered sweets pushed up against a door. The second thing was the group of boys standing around in the centre of the room. Once they heard Ren enter, they all turned to stare.

Ren felt is if he'd interrupted something; something important. They started at him as he followed Tamaki, who ran other to a boy wearing glasses and clutched at his arm, pulling him towards Ren.

Tamaki pointed his finger in Ren's face, "This is him Kyoya, its _Ren._"

His wide, violet eyes shone as he gazed at Ren admirably. The other boy, Kyoya, smiled.

Ren immediately decided he disliked Kyoya. His smile reminded his too much of his grandmother – a manipulative old hag. Everything that came out of her mouth was trash in Ren's opinion. All she lived to do was spout her bigot opinions about Sato's parenting and Ren's destructive attitude.

Ren's didn't smile back at Kyoya, or shake his outstretched hand. He simply nodded in acknowledgment and straightened is back, puffing out his chest slightly. Kyoya's smile dropped and he nodded in return.

Tamaki didn't miss Kyoya's clenched fist behind his back or the way he chewed on his cheek as he watched Ren's hostile reaction. Ren's presence was overpowering at the best of times, and Tamaki still shivered from the memory of being under Ren Kouki's scrutinizing gaze.

Tamaki turned to the other hosts, holding out his arms, "As of today, Ren will begin working as a host."

The twins turned to each other, then back to Tamaki.

"But boss," Kaoru started.

Hikaru crossed his arms, "We haven't discussed this,"

Ren rolled his eyes, "You still haven't explained to me what _exactly it is_ I'm _supposed to be working as_."

Now everyone turned to Tamaki. Kyoya pushed his glasses up his nose.

"He doesn't know anything about the host club. You mean you haven't explained to him yet?"

Tamaki winced, shying away from Kyoya's disappointed tone.

"I think you should explain then Tama-Chan," Hunny said, swaying with Usa-Chan clutched in his arms.

Tamaki rubbed his hands together and posed in front of Ren with his spread wide either side of him, "The Ouran host Club is where the school's handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands. I think it would be fantastic if you could –"

"What the hell did you just say?" Ren's cheeks were pink and his mouth fell open, not believing what he was hearing.

He couldn't believe it, an entire club with the purpose of deceiving and defiling innocent women. What better way to crush their romance-filled dreams then to set up a club of gorgeous men and have them pretend to love them. There was a chance that half the girls involved with the club actually believed the boys were in love with them, and the other half believed they were the 'elite' because the host club boys affirmed their love for them.

Being in the very room made Ren feel sick, like he'd been lured into a trap of self-assured womanizers. It was bad enough that the hosts clubs aim was to trick women, but 'school's handsomest boys'? Looks like they were vain too. Although Ren certainly didn't disagree.

Across the room, Hunny said something to Mori, who shook his head. The twins watched Ren curiously, whilst Kyoya stood, lips parted and blinking rapidly, not believing what he was seeing.

Ren furiously strode forward and grabbed Tamaki by the shoulders.

"Stop." Mori said nothing more, but he didn't need to. Ren listened to him, but didn't let go of Tamaki's shoulders.

He only looked into Tamaki's eyes, steadily, whilst he bared his teeth and spoke, "You said you knew about those girls, which means you know why I helped them,"

Tamaki nodded and Ren's jaw clenched, "So what would make you even _begin _to think that I would want to join a club of… of, philanderers! Being in this room makes me nauseous, no – just thinking about what goes down in here makes me livid. How could you so willingly decide to mess with a girls head? What joy do you get from making a girl fall in love with you?"

Not a single person in that room knew what to say. To them, Ren's reaction had been so over the top and uncalled for. Kyoya, for one, had never heard anything like it.

Once Tamaki had mentioned Ren being a host, Kyoya had begun his research on Ren. The most surprising thing about Ren Kouki was how many gaps he came across. Ren's mother, Reese Kouki, had died when Ren was just ten, and that was when the reported 'outbursts' started. No matter how much Kyoya dug, he could find no reported cause of death. The death report itself was restricted, which surprised Kyoya even more, considering his family should have access to all reports, even those in the US.

After that, he came across the reason as to why Ren join Ouran in the middle of the school year. The file had been blank. There was only the transaction receipt from Sato Kouki, paying for the term.

Ren's mysterious circumstances niggled at Kyoya to no end. He wanted to know everything about Ren Kouki, just as he knew everything about everyone else. Ren's reaction to the host club was even more mysterious.

Ren let go of Tamaki's shoulders and pushed him back. Then he met Kyoya's gaze. Kyoya made a mental note of the way Ren's cheeks flushed when he saw Kyoya. Was he embarrassed?

Ren looked at each host – the twins and Tamaki were wary of him, and the small blonde looked extremely upset.

Ren turned on his heel and strode across out of the room.

The door slammed and everyone, except Mori, flinched.

Kyoya opened his notebook and took a pen from his pocket, "You were right, Tamaki,"

"I was?" Tamaki was stunned.

"Yes," Kyoya looked up from the notebook, "He is intimidating."

"_Mommy,"_

* * *

**I understand that this wasn't a great chapter but its only the beginning, and in time I hope to improve not only my writing skills, but the quality of this story so please bear with me whilst we sand down the rough edges. Once again, review and let me know what you think, or how you think it could be improved :) f&amp;f if you want to continue reading. Thank you :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Porcelain - Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer - **I don't own Ouran Highschool Host Club or any characters, however the Kouki's and any original elements belong to myself.

Kyoya rubbed his temple and ran a hand through his unkempt hair. It was early, on a Sunday morning, and he was now standing right outside Ren Kouki's apartment.

How he came to be standing at the door should be of no surprise. Tamaki had called him a dozen times on Friday evening, and again on Saturday begging Kyoya to persuade Ren to join the club and to make him understand that Kyoya and his friends weren't the people who Ren presumed them to be. Although Kyoya tried to explain to his friend that he very much doubted he could 'make' Ren understand anything, he caved and agreed to help (after the 30th phone call at 11PM).

Kyoya could see Tamaki owing him some very big favours in the future. He had gotten around three hours of sleep, and had now risen at a ridiculous time to make his way to Ren's home. Kyoya hoped for Ren's sake that he did decide to become a host, for Kyoya was not feeling especially empathic or diplomatic.

The door creaked as it was pulled open. It was made of a dark wood, and a lot heavier that Kyoya had originally assumed.

A bleary eyed Ren appeared, leaning against the door jam and idly scratching at his pale, bare chest.

Kyoya felt heat rise to his cheeks as he took in Ren's attire. The boy was wearing nothing but a pair of slim fitting pyjama pants and house slippers.

He pushed his glasses up his nose and cleared his throat, "Good morning, Mr Kouki. I had hoped that we might have a discussion regarding the other day?"

Ren's eyebrow twitched and his lips pulled into a frown, "At this time? Sheesh…"

"I can come back later if this is an inconvenient time?"

Ren pulled open the door and shook his head, his shaggy hair falling into his eyes, "Might as well come in now that you're here and get this over and done with."

His tone was curt and irritable. It seemed like Kyoya wasn't the only one who didn't like mornings.

After letting Kyoya take off his shoes, the two moved through the small entry way and into the living room. The living room and open kitchen were divided by a simple breakfast bar, which was bare except for a bowl of ripe fruit. A simple, malt coloured sofa was pushed against the wall and faced a large TV, which sat mounted on the wall.

A chirpy, colourful cartoon filled the screen.

Ren threw himself onto the sofa beside Kyoya and tucked his feet under his knees. They sat in silence for a while before Ren spoke.

"Western cartoons can be kinda crude. But they're good."

"Mr Kouki, I didn't come here to talk about cartoons."

"_Mr Ootori_, I didn't wake up at an ungodly hour to let you in my apartment so you could badger me about your stupid club." The teen lurched forward and grabbed a steaming mug from the coffee table and untucked his legs, propping them on the edge.

After a loud slurp, he turned back to Kyoya, "You want a drink or something?"

A quiet 'yes' left his mouth and Ren smirked, "Huh, interesting. Well, you know where the kitchen is,"

"I believe its common etiquette to provide your guest with a drink after you have offered one to them. I'd have thought you knew that."

Ren nodded, "Yeah, it is. But I don't think that rule applies after your guest shows up at a stupid time of day and acts like an ass."

He set the mug heavily down on the table and stood up, towering over Kyoya. His arms were crossed and he stood with his legs slightly apart. If Kyoya had thought Ren had been intimidating during their first meeting, it was nothing compared to now.

Ren was a fair bit taller than Kyoya. His flyaway raven locks were shaggy and framed his angular face. For the first time in a long time, Kyoya found himself squirming as him and Ren made direct eye contact. He had never seen iris' quite like Ren's, such a deep, dark walnut…

"So? Spit it out. I know you've been dying to sell me your winning Host Club pitch since you walked through my door."

"Firstly, Mr Kouki, I –"

"Ren. Mr Kouki is my father."

"_Ren,_ I would like to state that we are by no means '_Womanizers_' or _'Philanderers'_. We run a business, aiming to entertain rich individuals by providing them with the company of other rich individuals. The customers are made aware from the start that none of the Hosts act with a nefarious intent."

Ren was pouting, shifting from foot to food. He was clearly uncomfortable.

"So you guys run… a kind of an underage, vanilla escort service?"

Kyoya's gut dropped and he felt his cheeks tingle and his eye twitching, "N-no. It's nothing like that. It's nothing like that at all."

"Huh…" Ren moved throughout the apartment and into the kitchen, "Carry on then."

"Right. Well, for one our customers are aware that we are prohibited from engaging with any kind of relationship with them. That's not the kind of service we provide,"

"And what if one of the Hosts did want a relationship with a customer. What're you gonna do?"

Kyoya was caught off guard with the question. It had not been something he'd fully discussed with Tamaki, although it probably be mentioned during their next meeting.

Pulling out his little black book, he jotted down the reminded. He put the book back in his pocket just as Ren returned to the soft. He set a cool glass of water on the table.

"Sorry, I'm out of coffee. Do the Japanese drink coffee?"

Bemused, Kyoya nodded and took a sip from the glass, eyeing Ren as he caught the other boy yawning, "Our intentions as Hosts are entirely pure, I can assure you. We do not wish the young ladies who visit us any harm or discomfort. Only our company."

Ren took his time to think about Kyoya's answer.

The taller boy, Kyoya noted, was considerably less hostile than he had been on Friday.

"Okay. So you're not… deflowering innocent girls in there. Why'd you want me to be a Host?"

Kyoya glanced at Ren. His expression was earnest, and there was something Kyoya couldn't quite place his finger on. Overall, the other boy appeared… softer. His eyebrows were no longer furrowed in annoyance and those rich, brown globes were no longer trying to bore holes into his skin.

"You're selfless. The charming knight of Ouran, defending our ladies' honour and putting their needs first. Not to mention your rather abrupt attitude is certainly a crowd pleaser,"

Ren threw his head back and laughed. A hearty chuckle erupted from him and his arm shot out to grab Kyoya's, "'_My attitude is a crowd pleaser'_, wow. Gotta say Ootori, that's the first time anyone's ever said _that _to me."

Kyoya couldn't help the warmth that spread across his cheeks. Ren's hands were warm; he could feel them, even though his coat sleeve. He plucked his glasses from his face and fused with them, wiping them on his shirt.

"Yes, well. We've had several customers asking for you to make an appearance to entertain them. Our website was flooded with mail yesterday, asking if you would joining us as a Host,"

Ren simply grunted, still watching Kyoya with that odd, unreadable expression.

"I still hate the fact that you're using these girls' feelings to make money," A small sigh escaped from Kyoya. So they were back to this…

"But I guess it sounds cool. I'm trusting you to keep me out of trouble, alright?"

Glee flooded Kyoya's chest. He had been so ready for rejection, expecting a sure, definite no. Although, he had no idea why Ren's acceptance made him feel quite the way he did. Getting Ren to come around had hardly been as big a challenge as he had anticipated. Still…

_I'm trusting you_.

Yes, that was it. Ren was putting his faith in _Kyoya_. Kyoya had heard all about Ren's defiant display in the gardens, and it was up to Kyoya to make sure a similar occurrence did not amount in the future.

Before, the irritation and vehemence he'd felt as his father piled on the responsibility of babysitting Tamaki had been overwhelming, and he hadn't even thought of trying to be a true friend to Tamaki. This time however, he was fully prepared, for whatever reason, to show Ren that he had put his trust in the right person.

Ren had the possibility to be a rather democratic individual. Perhaps, if they could work on his temper, then surely they could –

"Oi, you're not gonna pass out on my sofa, are you?" Ren was waving his hand in Kyoya's face.

The blush returned swiftly as he shook his thoughts aside, embarrassed at being caught in such a vulnerable position.

"So, urm. Yes. Mr – Ren. Ren. We'll see you on Monday in the –"

"The third music room. Yeah, I remember. And I can pull out if I don't like it?"

Oh. Kyoya had been so sure of Ren's earlier acceptance that he hadn't considered the boy would still be uncomfortable.

"Yes, of course. We couldn't have you as a host if you felt at all uncomfortable,"

A small smile appeared on Ren's face. The two stood up and made their way to the door.

"I don't mean to kick you out, but I'm shattered. Pretty sure if you hadn't been about to pass out of the sofa than I would have,"

Kyoya chuckled softly and pulled on his shoes.

"Oh, hey. Ootori. You never did answer my question,"

"Hm?"

"About host-slash-client relationships."

"Oh," Kyoya straightened and started at Ren, "I supposed we would have to ask the host to resign from his position. It would be unfair on the other guests. Would that be an issue? Are you planning on romancing a possible customer?"

Ren pulled a face and shivered dramatically, "Jeez, no. We're entertaining girls, right? You don't have to worry about me and them getting it on in an empty classroom or anything. Totally not my thing."

Kyoya, although confused, nodded.

The two said their goodbyes as Ren closed the door to his small apartment. Kyoya paused on the stairs and pulled out his book. Ren's crude, casual phrasing might be something they have to work on…

**I haven't updated this in so long but I promise I'm not dead and this story ****_will be continued_****. I haven't had a lot of time recently, due to personal issues and work, but hopefully that will change soon. Oh, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL THE AMERICANS. I don't celebrate it, but have a great day! Give this story a favourite and leave a review and enjoy!**


End file.
